Conservative Radio Talk Personality Glenn Beck is again traversing the country with a Christmas Show (yes, I said CHRISTMAS… not Holiday, not Winter; CHRISTMAS). The tour began last night in St Louis to a sold out crowd. Visit www.glennbeck.com for the tour schedule.

I won't spoil the show for those who have yet to see it… but it is both hysterical and inspirational. Beck, true to his radio tag line truly does fuse entertainment with enlightenment.

I had the pleasure of meeting Glenn briefly last night, as I was amongst a group of people randomly selected for an audience-participation segment with him. I found him to be truly friendly and genuine, and his charm was so evident as to only be exceeded by the reputation of Bill Clinton – who I'm told could charm the pants off you (if you are a woman!) – but of course Mr. Beck is a genuine and authentic charm, and I'll leave you to make your own comparison as concerns Mr. Clinton.

Beck is a master storyteller – and he apparently comes by this skill honestly, to hear him tell of his Grandfather's storytelling. He kept the audience laughing throughout the entire first half of his performance. While he did interweave some conservative political commentary occasionally – it certainly was NOT the focus of the event… It's CHRISTMAS for goodness sake! He reminded us to CELEBRATE and to enjoy the magic!

After a short intermission, the tone and tenor shifted. A tribute to our men and women in uniform was both moving and inspirational. Finally, Glenn shared some personal insights, and was unashamed to remind us that the central figure of the Christmas celebration is JESUS CHRIST. As well it should be. You won't hear THAT in the mainstream press!

If the Glenn Beck Christmas Show is coming to your town, make a point to see it. You will laugh, you will cry. You will feel a kinship with him. You will come away inspired. Not bad for an evening with a radio talkshow host!

The problem is that the mainstream press and the Democrats DON'T! Any appearance of success of any Bush initiative is so repugnant to them, they must snatch defeat from the jaws of victory! It's all about returning power to the left, and rendering the Republican majority impotent in the meantime – even if that means the sacrifice of lives, values… entire nations. There is no priority on earth which supercedes or transcends the left's over-arching directive… regain power at any cost.

Mona Charen's recent article, "One Marine's Words" highlighted how the left's main change-agent, the press, warps and distorts and omits the reality of events in Iraq to suit it's agenda. It is perhaps the best condensation of the issue I have read. The complete article can be found at http://www.theconservativevoice.com/articles/article.html?id=10240.

If I can borrow from Mona to make my own observations, she highlights Marine Sgt. Todd Bowers experiences with the press. He was misquoted to imply the very opposite of what he was saying in support of the mission. He noted reticence on the part of the press to photograph or report anything which reflected positively on the mission and their accomplishments. Conversely, he saw an eagerness to find and broadcast anything negative. The ideas of aimlessness, quagmire, failure and futility were at the heart of anything being broadcast out of Iraq.

One is left to wonder – why is the oppositional press being given such free reign in our military operations? During the initial combat phases, we EMBEDDED journalists within our battling troops ranks! War is a dirty business. We don't need instant images beamed off a satellite and into living rooms around the world – especially when they come wrapped in anti-mission commentary.

Perhaps our wars would be shorter and more successful if they were carried on as "black ops" – shrouded in secrecy until the mission was completed. The rhetoric against such secrecy would be shrill, but certainly no worse than the current partisan wrangling. But the military would be left to perform its mission without the biggest obstacle to their success, which overshadows even the enemy… the mainstream media!

The mainstream press is either willingly or naively cooperating with the strategy of the terrorists and insurgents. They know Americans have no stomach for a protracted and wearying effort. We are instant-gratification oriented. They have learned; kill 3000 in a day, and we'll kick your posterior. Kill 2 or 3 a day for a couple years, and you'll wear us down. And the press willingly leads their Iraq stories with the daily body count.

All commercial journalists in theatre should be ushered OUT of operational areas in short order. All news coming out of an area of operations should be issued by the Armed Forces Press Service. (They ARE qualified journalists who are quite capable of putting together their own newsworthy stories.) There is no reason for our military to continue to play gracious host to such unruly and disruptive houseguests.

St. Rosa of Lima School in New York has fired a preschool teacher after she informed them she was pregnant, was keeping the baby, and had no plans to marry.

The Archdiocese defended the firing stating that the teacher had violated the teachers' personnel handbook and "the tenets of Catholic morality".

Now the teacher is suing, represented by the New York Civil Liberties Union.

The church has messed up. Again.

In an age when the church is still reeling from the pedophile priest scandal – where priests systemically were abusing kids, and were being protected by the church – they now claim the moral high ground to terminate a teacher for NOT terminating her pregnancy?

Yes, the teacher has VISIBLY violated the "tenets of Catholic morality" by being unwed, pregnant, and having no plans to marry. Yet how is the Catholic Church to uphold it's pro-life position if the church itself FIRES people who carry an unplanned and inconvenient pregnancy to term?

There are a number of issues this situation raises:

1) As a visible example of premarital sex and its consequences, she HAS forfeited her moral standing to hold a position in authority over the students in a private, tuition based Catholic parochial school. She SHOULD no longer be in a TEACHING role.

2) As a woman carrying an unplanned and inconvenient pregnancy to term, a pro-life church should extend assistance – not put her in the position where it would have been perhaps more advantageous to quietly abort than to carry to term.

3) As FIRING a woman for allowing her unplanned, inconvenient and unwed pregnancy to progress to the point of visibility would then send the message that NOT aborting can have consequences of losing one's job… terminating her job for not terminating her pregnancy is an untenable solution for the church's MORAL positions. Especially in the climate where the accusation could be leveled at the church: Be a pedophile priest, get transferred. Be a pregnant single teacher, get fired!

I would have proposed the following solution which I believe would address all the concerns:

Remove teacher from any position having authority over students, but don't fire her. Put her into an administrative role providing a service to the operation of the school. The teacher would then continue to have a job and a means to support her unborn child.

The church benefits, both by showing it's compassion, understanding and support of an unwed mother bringing an unplanned pregnancy to term; AND by still demonstrating that they hold their moral positions sacred, and that they wish only those of high character to teach the kids in their schools. The "tenets of Catholic morality" would be upheld before the students (and their paying parents), reinforcing that actions have consequences and "bad examples" are not left in authority over young minds.

Instead, the church has stepped in it one more time – to its own detriment.

With polls showing support for the war in Iraq declining, and President Bush's personal popularity in a tailspin - it has suddenly become fashionable to be anti-war. (At least for those whose politics are blown by the winds of "fashion".)

Much has been made of the call by Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania for withdrawal of our troops, as though the Administration had lost some sort of Democratic ally... but Murtha's been opposed to Iraq for years... it's not news. The "no WMD" argument is weakening, in the light of finding 1.77 tons of enriched Uranium, 1700 gallons of chemical agents, Sarin-filled artillery shells etc. (Ok, we haven't found a nuke, or bio-weapon ready to launch… but if I may borrow a point from my favorite radio personality, Randy Tobler… Those same Liberals that defend evolution against Intelligent Design stating the the "missing links" just haven't been found yet; these are the very same Liberals that accept a PRESUMPTION that WMD never existed just because there has been little success unearthing them.) So the Dems needed a new banner to wave.

The usual Leftist suspects have added a "cut and run" call for immediate withdrawal to their incessant drone of "Bush Lied, yada yada". They're all acting as if our going to Iraq was not only an evil conspiracy - but that they were dragged into it against their wills - kicking and screaming with their heals leaving deep divots! Convenient amnesia has taken hold in the House and Senate. These prominent Democrats, who have hitched their wagon to the Sheehan Express, seem to have forgotten their own words. Thank goodness for videotape, audiotape, and electronic storage media!!

"Saddam Hussein certainly has chemical and biological weapons; there is no question about that." Nancy Pelosi

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction." Ted Kennedy

"I will be voting to give the president of the U.S. the authority to use force if necessary to disarm Saddam because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security... Without question we need to disarm Saddam Hussein... These weapons represent an unacceptable threat." John Kerry

"Saddam has thumbed his nose at the world community and I think the President is approaching this in the right fashion." Harry Reid

And there are many others. The hypocrisy is staggering, though not surprising. The question is, were they insincere and playing politics when they made the statements, or are they insincere and playing politics now in their flip-flopping – now that public support of the War Effort is waning? There is no soul - no character - no depth of conviction in these liberals. To adapt a line from the late JFK, they will tell any lie, espouse any position, reverse any statement, assail any nominee, spend any amount, cowtow to any billionaire, to attain and maintain political power.

So, as it appears the current winds of sentiment are blowing from a war-weary direction; the Sheehanites, aided by the Mainstream Media, and energized by the 2000th death in Iraq, geared up the "Withdraw Now" campaign... and the Dems are buying into it. But while they're advocating Iraqus Interruptus (pulling out too soon); let's give some thought to the real issues involved.

We talk about "supporting the troops", but the most demoralizing thing to those troops deployed in harm's way today is the very prospect that they may be withdrawn with the job left undone. The TROOPS believe in what they're there doing! Despite the media's touting of military recruitment being down... RE-ENLISTMENT among those troops DEPLOYED in harm's way has never been higher! How can we "support the troops" without supporting their mission??

When it comes to world peace, security and stability issues - the words "middle east" are always at the center of any discussion. Iraq MUST be stabilized. The insurgency MUST be quelled. To pull out before Iraq is ready to provide for their own security is to simply hand over the region to civil war, and ultimately to Iran! Imagine the confederacy of Iraq/Iran/Syria in a post-withdrawal scenario.

Look at the positive effects on the world scene that our actions in Afghanistan and Iraq have wrought:

Afghanistan has been liberated and the Taliban routed. Another fledgling democracy is taking flight in the Middle East - a region desperately needing more beachheads of freedom. Saddam is deposed. A man who himself was a weapon of mass destruction is neutralized. Iraq has held elections, passed a constitution, and is moving toward self-sufficiency... but it's not there yet.

Libya has abandoned its nuclear aspirations. Khadafi has been tamed without firing a shot south of Iraq. North Korea has been contained through the 6-way talks... and they didn't get the one-on-one that Kim Jong Il (and John Kerry) wanted. Pakistan has gone from antagonist to ally. Relations between India and Pakistan have warmed and they may actually work out the Kashmir situation. All these are corollary effects of the actions in Iraq. Additionally, the world is finally beginning to understand the true scope and nature of the Islamo-extremist Global War OF Terror.

But all we hear about is the 2000 bodies. (Let's remember the 3000 lost on 9/11!)

Of course, we don't want to maintain high troop levels in Iraq longer than necessary – and as the Iraqi Army gains the ability to take the responsibilities for their own security, we CAN begin phased withdrawals. But we must do so responsibly – in a situationally responsive manner and not by some artificial timetable. We will draw down our forces, but we must not leave a vacuum. Remember what happened when we scurried out of Southeast Asia under Nixon. We must maintain a certain level of presence in Iraq long term, and should establish permanent bases in the region. Rapid deployability must remain a priority as the region will always be a contentious place.

San Francisco Gun Ban: "If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns." The tag line's been around at least 30 years, but it's as true today as is ever was! Unilateral disarmament was the cry of the left during the cold war years, but it was "peace thru strength" that ultimately won the day. Forcing the law abiding citizen to surrender his firearms is an open invitation for every armed lawbreaker to pursue his enterprises without fear of resistance. Gun-control laws only apply to the law abiding! Lawbreakers BREAK those laws! The coke-dealer on the corner isn't about to turn in his Glock. How many criminals arrested on gun related charges used legally purchased and registered firearms in their crimes??

On the other hand, did you hear about the 66 year old grandma who shot a home invader in her home a couple days ago? The event was recorded on a 911 call. What do you suppose would have happened if she WASN'T armed! If you were a robber, which home would be more attractive to you: The one with the "Protected by Smith & Wesson" sticker or the one with the "Gun Free Zone" sticker on the door?

Paris Riots: If we don't win the Global War ON Terror, we'll lose the Global War OF Terror. When are we going to learn that this IS a WORLDWIDE war, without political borders. It's a war of ideology. It's Radical Islamofascism at war with the REST OF THE WORLD. Their goal is to impose a worldwide caliphate – a global Islamic Theocracy. France's open immigration policy toward the Islamic North Africans has not been one of assimilation – by either side! The stated purpose of the mullahs has not been to BECOME French… but to take over!

Of course, the present chaos could be quieted quickly with a few armored vehicles, some shot rioters and a couple thousand deportations… but the French are too busy sewing their white flags.

Windfall Oil Profits: Has anyone even noticed that gasoline prices have dropped a dollar in the last 60 days? You hardly heard a wimper in the Mainstream Press about dropping prices – but let gasoline jump 15 cents in a week and listen to the outcry. The market HAS been working, and production is up and prices are down WITHOUT any governmental action.

Speaking of windfall profits, do you realize that the government takes in more in taxes on a gallon of gas than the oil companies take in profit on that same gallon? Who's doing the gouging?

Democrat Gloating over New Jersey & Virginia: Let not your hearts be troubled! The Dems RETAINED the governorship in both states. The Republicans waged hard fought campaigns but failed to GAIN governorships. OK, we keep the status-quo. That's a "referendum" on the Republicans? Let the Democrats believe that they're somehow gaining a mandate… they'll be in for a rude awakening in 2006.

Remember that Bush's popularity numbers have fallen NOT because there are more Michael Moore/Al Franken/Cindy Sheehan nutjobs out there. His numbers are down NOT because there is a rise in the numbers of people on the left. He is sinking in the polls because his BASE is disappointed that he is NOT governing from the RIGHT! He's not been CONSERVATIVE ENOUGH! His "moderate" stances on immigration, border security, trade, spending etc. have diminished his support amongst the conservative base that elected him. While this may look bad for the President himself, the Republican Party should recognize that these disaffected conservatives will be a unified and galvanized force behind any congressional candidates who DO stand up for the conservative values that the majority in this country hold dear. Candidates who run on a truly conservative platform, and gain the trust of their constituents that they will hold true to that platform once in office will ride a wave of conservative support that will further deplete the influence of the left in Congress.

While it is true that no assembled nuclear weapons or launch ready chemical/biological weapons have been found, there is no truth to the disinfomation propogated by the mainstream media which postulates there were no WMDs and that Saddam's stockpiles were all destroyed after Gulf War One.

The fact is that many component parts of these weapons have been found – and they even got some mention in the press. For example:

The US has revealed that it removed more than 1.7 metric tons of radioactive material from Iraq in a secret operation last month. "This operation was a major achievement," said US Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham in a statement. He said it would keep "potentially dangerous nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists". Along with 1.77 tons of enriched uranium, about 1,000 "highly radioactive sources" were also removed.

Much of the radioactive materials were in powdered form which could be used for wide dispersal in a so called "dirty bomb"

BAGHDAD, Aug. 13 -- U.S. troops raiding a warehouse in the northern city of Mosul uncovered a suspected chemical weapons factory containing 1,500 gallons of chemicals believed destined for attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces and civilians, military officials said Saturday.

"The Iraqi Survey Group confirmed today that a 155-millimeter artillery round containing sarin nerve agent had been found," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the chief military spokesman in Iraq, told reporters in Baghdad. "The round had been rigged as an IED (improvised explosive device) which was discovered by a U.S. force convoy."

Why are we continually subjected to the drone that there were no WMD and that Bush lied (though the same intelligence he relied upon was cited by Clinton, Kerry and many other Liberal Democrats and was used as justification of Clinton's bombing of Iraq's "chemical, biological & nuclear capabilities")?

When are the American Public going to hold the mainstream media accountable to report things as they really are?

Until they do, it is up to the alternative media to challenge the disinformation.

The Washington Times recently ran a piece, “’Party Trumps Race’ For Steele Foes” by S. A. Miller, which highlighted the hysterical and racist reaction that Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele – a conservative black man – is getting in his bid for the Maryland US Senate seat.

I find some of the statements of his Liberal opposition, as cited in the Times article, quite fascinating. Those supposedly Liberal virtues of tolerance, diversity, etc. seem to go out the window if a black adopts a conservative mindset. Let's examine:

[Delegate Salima Siler Marriott, a black Baltimore Democrat, said Mr. Steele invites comparisons to a slave who loves his cruel master or a cookie that is black on the outside and white inside because his conservative political philosophy is, in her view, anti-black. "Because he is a conservative, he is different than most public blacks, and he is different than most people in our community," she said. "His politics are not in the best interest of the masses of black people."]

Hmm. Being "different than most people in our community" is unacceptable. The black constituency is monolithically Liberal and Democrat? Where's that famous diversity or tolerance?

[Black Democratic leaders in Maryland say that racially tinged attacks against Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele in his bid for the U.S. Senate are fair because he is a conservative Republican. Such attacks against the first black man to win a statewide election in Maryland include pelting him with Oreo cookies during a campaign appearance, calling him an "Uncle Tom" and depicting him as a black-faced minstrel on a liberal Web log. Operatives for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) also obtained a copy of his credit report -- the only Republican candidate so targeted. But black Democrats say there is nothing wrong with "pointing out the obvious. There is a difference between pointing out the obvious and calling someone names," said a campaign spokesman for Kweisi Mfume, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and former president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.]

[“This week, the News Blog -- a liberal Web log run by Steve Gilliard, a black New Yorker -- removed a doctored photo of Mr. Steele that depicted him as a black-faced minstrel. However, the blog has kept its headline "Simple Sambo wants to move to the big house.” A caption beneath a photo of the lieutenant governor reads: "I's Simple Sambo and I's running for the Big House."]

Not only is it unacceptable to the Left to BE a black conservative – it IS acceptable to demean, harass, throw objects at and illegally pull credit information about a black person who dares to "leave the plantation".

The Democrats have presumed the black community was indeed a monolithic voting block. As long as they could be kept a permanent underclass… undereducated and dependent on the government; they would be a block of votes that would default to the Democrats. It was a formula that worked for decades.

But beginning with the Reagan years more and more persons of African-American extraction began improving their lot. (Someday we'll get rid of the hyphenated-American phraseology… but it must serve here!) Empowerment rather than entitlement began to see the light of day, and more and more blacks began educating themselves and advancing themselves into the growing ranks of the middle-class of color. While our society is not yet completely color-blind… the progress we've made so far would be enough to deny a pilots license to one with equivalent color perception. Opportunity for minorities to achieve is absolutely there, and more and more of them are laying hold of that opportunity and are succeeding. This in itself is frightening for the Dems, as regardless of race, successful people tend to move to the right of the political spectrum. When your name is on a paycheck instead of a government check… when money going to entitlements shows as a minus [-] on your paystub instead of as check in your name… your thinking shifts.

Steele is not an anomaly. He is representative of a growing contingent of black people who are no longer liberal by default. They are vilified because they are a threat to the power structure of the Left. For decades the Left has taken the black vote for granted (where else they gonna go?). But what has the left DONE for the black community? Yes, they carp about raising the minimum wage… but who works for minimum wage for more than a year? If they don't change jobs to something more challenging and better paying… don't they at least get a raise? They keep appealing to those at the bottom of societies ladder… but they never do anything to encourage anyone to CLIMB that ladder. And why not? Because their power comes from dependence and entitlement. The adage is true: "Liberals quantify compassion by how many people they provide public assistance to; while Conservatives quantify it by how many they've elevated to no longer need it."

What have the Dems done about education? The public schools everywhere are lacking, but in the black urban areas they are miserable. And fewer than 50% of the kids in those schools even manage to graduate. Yet the Dems DO keep throwing money at the problem… "…see, we're doing this to help you…" but the quality of the education and the encouragement to complete it has not made any progress under decades of congressional control by Democrats. Conservatives, on the other hand, have been proponents of merit pay, teacher accountability, school accountability, performance based funding, school choice and competition and vouchers… all of which would improve the educational lot for all children, but none more than the urban black kids. Dems oppose these proposals vehemently!

Steele is representative of a growing black middle class which is educated and making it, and is exercising independent thought and analysis when it comes to politics. They are not liberal voters by default. They don't look at their skin and then cast a party-line (D) ballot. And the Dems are terrified that their "in their pocket" old-reliable voting block is splintering.

And it's not just the individual lost votes they fear. They see it as a cancer. This thing can SPREAD. As more blacks choose conservatism, more will question why they are liberals. More will realize the Democratic Party has just used them for 50 years. More will leave the ranks of the Left. And the Left has no counter. They don't know HOW to appeal to the disenchanted black who has sworn off Kool-Aid. They can't woo him back with the old promises… he knows they don't work. They can't actually DO anything to advance the black community – that would create less dependence and they'd lose even more to the Right. When cheap talk and no action no longer plays to cheering crowds in the black community – the Left is left without ideas. And they know it.

So as the Pharasees saw their power threatened by a new prophet and his followers, and conspired, "This man must die"… the Dems must destroy any African-American who dares to seek office as a conservative. But as they raise these brave conservatives of color up on their crosses of defamation… they may well be simply accelerating their own demise – as the early church grew fastest under the Roman persecutions.